Having published a novel in 1979 about the collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet, I was interested to hear that it really might happen.

A new report in Science, the top US science journal, says it could have dire results for Vancouver: a 6-meter rise in sea level.

As explained in a Globe and Mail story, the collapse of the ice sheet would actually change the planet’s gravity, allowing sea water to rise in the North Pacific.

To get a sense of what a somewhat higher rise than 6 meters would mean for Vancouver, see this map from re:place magazine.

But don’t worry. I predicted it would happen in 1985. The scientists don’t expect it for several hundred years.

Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.